Cleistocactus hyalacanthus grows as a shrub with erect shoots that branch out from the base and reach heights of up to 1 meter with a diameter of 4 to 6 centimeters with about 20 ribs.

The approximately 3 central spines are brown to yellowish and up to 3 centimeters long.

They are food for larger birds, which disperse the small black seeds in their droppings.

Cleistocactus hyalacanthus is distributed in the Argentinian provinces of Salta and Jujuy at altitudes of 1500 to 3500 meters and possibly in southern Bolivia.

This species was first described as Cereus hyalacanthus was made in 1897 by Karl Moritz Schumann.